Finding Sunrise
by MalTease
Summary: Four year old Alba Mellark gets lost at the District fair, and she is scared that Mommy and Daddy left her behind and all alone. Set in the Perspectives universe (between Chapter 14 and Chapter 15), a little drabble in the point of view of Katniss and Peeta's daughter.


_**This is a little drabble I wrote some months ago on tumblr, and I wanted to share. I tried to capture the voice of a four year old girl, and took my inspiration from my nephew. I hope it works :).**_

I hug Mr Lamb and Mr Wabbit because they're my friends and they never tell me that I'm silly and I'm impossible. And they never go to play with Baby Aidan instead of playing with me. And now Mommy is sad and Daddy scolded me and I don't think they're my friends anymore.

It starts because I want to go with Mommy to the fair to visit Daddy because he is selling cakes and cupcakes and buns and they are very good and I want to eat a lot. But Baby Aidan keeps fussing and he won't be quiet so I have to wait inside and not go visit Daddy at the fair. And I know people are buying cupcakes and they will all finish and there won't be any for me. But Baby Aidan just keeps crying and Mommy says I should stop asking to go to the fair because I can see that she is busy trying to keep Baby quiet.

So I wait and wait. And finally Baby Aidan goes to sleep and Mommy sits on the bed with me and braids my hair and it feels really nice to have Mommy without Baby and so when she finishes doing my hair in two braids I don't want her to stop. So when she turns I remove the braids so that she can start again. But Mama says that I am silly and that I shouldn't ever do it again ever. And then I ask if it is never ever and she says yes.

I think never ever is a very long time and it makes me sad.

But then Mommy gets angry at me because I ask her to go see Daddy at the fair again and first she says I don't think so sweetie because Baby is now asleep. But then I stamp my foot and scream that I hate Baby Aidan and he wakes up and starts crying and Mommy shouts that she's so tired and she starts crying too. The she drags me to Daddy with Baby Aidan and tells him to keep me next to him while she tries to put Baby to sleep because I was being impossible. Papa looks sad and asks Miss Linda who is selling plants next to him to watch over me while he takes Mommy home as she cries.

When he comes back he has Mr Lamb and Mr Wabbit with him and he scolds me for waking up Aidan when Mommy is so tired. But I didn't know that Mommy was tired so I hug them and try not to cry because I am silly and impossible and Mommy is not my friend anymore. Daddy puts me on the counter next to him but I just hug my friends and look down because if I look at Daddy, I will cry and I want to be unsilly and possible again but I don't know how. And if I don't do it Mommy and Daddy will not be friends with me anymore.

Daddy tries to talk to me but I don't answer because I want to cry so he hugs me and kisses me on the nose. I think he is still a little bit friends with me but I am not sure. After a little bit he nudges me and tells me look who's here? And I see Aunt Delly and my bestestest friend in the world besides Mr Lamb and Mr Wabbit.

I cry Benny! and I jump off the counter which I don't think is a good idea because now I can only see Benny's eyes and his nose and he can only see my eyes and our hands can't reach over the counter even though I stand tall tall tall on tippy toes. Daddy picks me up and puts me down next to Benny on the other side of the counter and Aunt Delly tells us to run along and play and be good and to stay in the square. Benny and I run along and hold hands and when I ask him if I'm silly and impossible he says he says no. He says I'm icky because I'm a girl but he's icky because he's a boy so it's ok. And he says that we don't have cooties which is good I think..

Then after a bit Benny sees his Pa and he runs to hug his legs, and I think that I want to hug Daddy's legs too. But only his soft, squishy one because the other one is cold and straight. Uncle Thom has really long legs. Are they cold? I'll ask Ben one day. So I turn to walk to Daddy's stall but I can't see it. And I can't see Benny either, and everyone around me is walking and not seeing me and I feel cold and I feel hot and I don't know what to do so I whisper Benny?

And then I shout Mommy! But then I remember that I am silly and impossible and that Daddy said that I should not wake Baby and now I'm alone and not even Mr Lamb and Mr Wabbit are with me and everything is scary and bad and scary and scary. So I sit down on the ground and cry and cry and then I feel arms picking me up and they're warm and strong and I smell bread and it's Daddy it's Daddy it's Daddy and I feel safe.

"Dah-dee! You found me! You came back!" I sob and cling to his neck because I'm never letting go. Never ever. And it's a long time.

"Sweetie were you lost and scared? Daddy is here! I'm not going anywhere my lovely!"

"I thought you went away with Mommy and Aidan and left me alone," I try to explain but everything hurts so much so I don't think I want to stop crying yet.

"Sunrise, I was never anywhere, the stall is just there, see?" He points to the stall and it's really close but when I was on the ground I couldn't see it and everything was bad. I also see Mommy coming up with Baby Aidan in her arms and I remember that I am not possible and unsilly yet so I hide my face in Daddy's neck and and gnaw at his t-shirt. It tastes like many nice things.

"What happened?" I hear Mommy ask in the voice she uses when I am very good and when she loves me very much.

"Alba thought we left her alone and went away with the baby," I heard Daddy reply in a strange, low voice.

They don't speak for a little bit so I look up from Daddy's neck and see that they are both looking at each other and they look sad. I don't like it when they're sad so I stuff my head back underneath Daddy's neck and murmur Dah-dee over and over again.

Suddenly I feel Mommy's soft hands stroking my hair and she tickles my neck, causing me to squirm. "Sunrise, can you look at Mommy please?" she asks gently.

I peek quickly to see whether she's angry, but she doesn't seem to be. "I'm sorry for being angry with you when all you wanted was to come to the fair to see Daddy," she tells me, as Baby Aidan stuffs her braid in his mouth. He's a silly baby I think.

"I'm sorry I'm not possible," I reply.

She looks puzzled for a moment and then smiles. "You're perfect, Sunrise. And because I'm so tired all the time I forget that I have a sweet little girl who still wants to play and snuggle with her Mommy." I think she is very right and that she's talking about me so I nod my head and say yesh.

Aunt Delly walks up to us and takes Baby from Mommy. "I think this little guy can stay with his Auntie for a few hours," she says with a wink. She whispers something to Mommy who smiles back and thanks her.

Mommy then picks me up from Daddy's arms and kisses me on the nose and I am so happy because they found me and I smile and hug Mommy. She is very soft.

"I have an idea. Why don't we go round all the stalls, just you and me, and buy flowers and ribbons and many things? And then when we're hungry we'll go take many many cupcakes from Daddy!" she tells me with a wide smile.

I nod and turn to Daddy. "Mommy is pretty when she smiles!" I tell him with a giggle. Daddy grins back and agrees with me and gives us both a kiss.

I feel possible and unsilly and so so happy that I decide that I will keep a cupcake for Baby Aidan.

Or maybe half. Because they are Daddy's cupcakes, and they are the bestestest in the world.


End file.
